Our Little Problems
by FlameShadow
Summary: Kaiba loves Shizuka, and shizuka loves Kaiba...problem is, they have no idea of each other's feelings! But, when a girl that Kaiba knew from the past comes back into his life, Seto has to make a decision, but he never imagined that it would be this hard.
1. Chapter 1:We all Have Our Petty Problems

**Hi peoplez!**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Arisa Mizuki, or Ayumi Hamasaki (j-pop) idols.**

**Ummm****…I use the term Ma'ke Inu once…which translates to "Pathetic Dog"**

**And I hope you enjoy ****^ ^**

**O**

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**Please Review Much!**

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**Chapter 1: We All Have Our Petty Problems**

_Seto my love,_

_How I dream about you…_

_And all the while knowing, how it's all not true_

_But, I love you._

            Shizuka Jounouchii looked down onto the sheet of crisp loose-leaf paper that she had been writing on and quickly scrunched it up and shoved it deep into her pocket. What was she thinking, writing love poems about Seto Kaiba? If anyone, let alone Seto, ever found them, she would be in trouble.

            What was more was that she hated the guy. She couldn't have hated anyone more if she had tried. Though, she had to admit that she had caught herself more than once thinking about those cold blue eyes, or that chestnut colored hair that seemed so nice to run your fingers through. Some days it was the leather jacket that he wore or the way he looked when he was bored during class.

            She couldn't believe that she actually noticed, or cared, about any of this.

            Besides, it didn't matter what she thought of him because it was clear that her young, naïve sixteen year-old self didn't stand a ghost of a chance with the cold, or was he hot, seventeen year-old named Seto Kaiba.

            She supposed that he was both, cold and hot.

            Now the question was, where should she stuff that horrible love poem so that there was absolutely no chance of anyone finding it whatsoever? The main person who should never see this poem was Katsuya, her brother or, she knew, all hell would ensue.

            And speaking of hell, speak of the devil, when she heard: "SHIZUKA!" it was her brother.

            "Coming!" she yelled back. She quickly took the paper and shoved it underneath her pillow. It should be safe there. This was bad. Since she had been day dreaming and writing poetry instead of getting ready, she had exactly thirty seconds to throw clothes on.

            It was a feat that few could accomplish, but she had managed.

            There she stood in the doorway, ready to go, her face slightly flushed at what she had been doing.

            "You're face is red, Shizuka." Jounouchii said as if it was something that no one was aware of.

            "Thanks." She said blankly. God, tell her something that she didn't know already. "Well anyway, let's go Onii-chan!" She called from the bottom of the stairs to Jounouchii who was still standing at the top of them and looking rather confused as he tended to look most of the time. Her goal was to change the subject away from her red face.

            Seeing his sister at the bottom of the stairs, Jounouchii quickly sped down the oak staircase to join his sister where she waited on the small light blue carpet on the foot of those stairs.

            The sibling pair walked merrily out the door and Shizuka closed it behind them. "I have that math test today." She said.

            "Oh the really hard one?" Jounouchii asked.

            She sighed. She loved her brother, but he could be so, so dumb at times. "Yes that one. It's to get college credit while I'm still in high school." She replied. "Only two people out of the whole city can get the credit and the test is extremely difficult, it tests the hardest concepts of algebra, trigonometry, and geometry."

            "Count me out." Jounouchii replied, lazily.

            That was to be expected of her brother though. She didn't expect him to exert himself in his classes. While he pulled off, at best, C's and the occasional B in his classes, Shizuka took pride in her straight A+ report card and that was why acing this test and getting into the college of her choice was so important to her.

            She wanted to attend Kitagawa College and that was one of the best on the entire archipelago on which she lived (Japan). If she got the top score on this math test, she was guaranteed a spot there, and if not, well then, she could never afford the tuition without the scholarship that this test also gave.

            But, every student, from every grade in high school was allowed to try for this scholarship so a person's chances of getting in were slim. But, she was in the advanced math class and was doing extremely well in it. We might add that she was in the same math class as her senpai, Seto Kaiba, who was sure could be in an even more advanced class yet he just didn't care.

            _Well that's nice that he has all of his money and stuff, but that pisses me off to no end. When people need to try so hard to get what they want, and he, he just sits there and rings up on his cell phone and gets whatever he wants. Ughhhh!_

            Yes, the feelings of jealousy that she felt for Seto Kaiba could not be contained by poor Shizuka. As though having only math with him was not enough, she was also in the advanced physics class with him. They both took Quantum Physics, a college level course.

            "I thought as much that you wouldn't be too interested in the test." She said.

            "Well, ya know, these smart people things are just too much for me, but I bet I know a couple of other people who'll be in that testing room with you, one of whom I'd rather not mention." He replied, narrowing his eyes as he approached the end of his sentence.

            "You don't mean Kaiba?" she asked quickly. "You think that he'll be taking the test?!?"

            "I'm sure he will."

            "But why? He doesn't need the scholarship!" she exclaimed.

            "It's simple really, he's just Kaiba." Jounouchii replied, annoyed at even having to mention the name of his bitter rival. If there was one person that he had an uncontrollable urge to beat at something, it was Kaiba. It didn't even have to be duel monsters; it could have been a quilting bee for all cared! Kaiba bested him at everything he did.

            _It figures that he would take this test just to do better then the rest of the people so they don't get the scholarship. He just wants to prove to the world that he's the best, its no different when he torments my brother with his remarks like "Ma'ke Inu." and when he calls him "Pathetic." Or "Weak." Or "Second Rate." But, if I hate him that much, why am I writing love poems to him?!? AHHHHHH! I so gotta stop doing that poem thing!_

Well it didn't matter. Even if Seto Kaiba was taking this exam, she would beat him at it. She didn't care who he thought that he was. No one was perfect and he wouldn't win against her, not when it actually mattered and her future depended on it.

            "Shizuka-chan! Jounouchii-kun! Ohayoo!" The pair stopped and turned at the voice that they knew so well. It belonged to the petite duelist known as Yugi Mutou. 

            "Ohayoo Yugi-kun!" Shizuka said in her calm, polite voice.

            "Oi Yugi, did you do the history homework?" Jounouchii wasted no time getting to the point.

            "Sure, do you need to see it?" he asked, with that cheerful smile that he always wore. Jounouchii nodded vigorously, and Yugi put down his back pack for a second and shuffled through some folders to find the document that Jounouchii wanted. After a few seconds, he pulled out the packet and placed it into the waiting hand of his best friend.

            "Arigatoo!" Jounouchii exclaimed, and immediately began scanning the packet as the gang walked along.

            Almost instantly, they were joined by Anzu, Honda, and Otogi, and that made up their normal walking group for the mornings.

            Anzu and Shizuka were definitely the best of friends and being the only two girls in the group of guys, it wasn't surprising. "Did you get the new Arisa Mizuki CD?" Anzu gushed to her friend.

            Shizuka shook her head, "No, I got Ayumi Hamasaki instead, I like her better anyway."

            "Really?"

            "Yeah, her songs are better."

            "Hmmm, I'd have to argue with you there, but hey aren't you taking that huge test today?" Anzu asked.

            "Oh yeah!" Honda exclaimed.

            "That's supposed to be really hard right?" Otogi asked. Soon the whole group had its attention on poor Shizuka who felt extremely cornered.

            "Yeah, they're really hard tests." She replied meekly.

            "Well I know that you'll do really well!" Otogi said, and was quickly grabbed by the shoulder by Honda.

            "Watch who you flirt with!" he whispered fiercely to him.

            "Oh what? Is she _your_ girlfriend? I don't see you two going on any dates!" he retorted.

            "Yeah well, neither are you two!"

            "Well, I guess its whoever gets her first then."

            "You're on!"

            And so, this was going to be the beginning of a fierce battle between the two lovers who would both stop at nothing to win Shizuka's hand and her heart.

***

            Of course, our high school group wasn't the only group with problems.

            Young Mokuba Kaiba sat with his two best friends on the steps of his school. His friends were named Kai and Riku. 

Kai was a rather angry young child, as most people put it. It was true, he was a hypocrite. He didn't like anybody yet people were still strangely drawn to him, which bothered him, naturally. He had short brown hair that stuck up quite a bit and he was usually quiet, and if he made a comment, it was usually to emphasize the stupidity of something that he thought was stupid or to make a sarcastic remark of some sort.

Riku was the opposite. She was friendly, and always wore a bright smile on her pretty, round face. Her black hair was short and it framed her face in a cute sort of way. She wasn't pretty, but she had appealing qualities about her ten-year-old self that made everyone want to talk to her, no matter their age.

And those were Mokuba's best friends in the entire world, besides his Nii-sama, of course.

"I didn't do my math!" Mokuba whined miserably.

"Why not?" Kai asked. He wasn't helping.

"It was really hard." He said.

"I did it, and I thought it was easy." Kai said.

"Shut up Kai!" Riku said, giving him a look of distaste. "Look, do you want me to help you. It took me a long time to do, but I think that I got it."

"We don't have time." He said miserably.

"I'm leaving, since I'm obviously not appreciated here." Kai muttered, and stood up and walked away.

"Who needs you?" Riku yelled after him. It had been that way for as long as Mokuba could remember. Riku and Kai were never on good terms on the outside, but Mokuba knew as well as they did, that without each other they'd be lost. They were best friends and so they were stuck with each other even if against their wills. "Honestly Mokuba, why didn't you ask your brother? There's a really big test tomorrow!" she said, voice full of concern. Riku was a rather motherly person.

"I know." He sighed. They looked at the clock on top of the school building simultaneously and both got up to go inside, but the walk would take them about a minute and a half.

"Then why didn't you ask…"

He cut her off. "He doesn't like it when I ask him for help with homework." He said loudly.

"But you need help, so you have to…" she was cut off again, but this time it was by someone that she did not want to talk to.

It was Lara.

Who the heck is Lara?

Let's start here. Lara is the devil. In Riku's, Mokuba's, and Kai's eyes, she was the devil.

"Well, well!" she said, sneering. "What have we here?"

"Get lost Lara!" Riku said, letting her temper get the best of her.

"Ooohhhh, calm down, there's no need to get nasty, Riku." She said sweetly, but Riku could feel the venom that accompanied Lara when she pronounced the word "Riku". Riku wished that Kai was here. He knew how to deal with that bitch.

"What do you want?" Mokuba asked. He had no time for her. He needed to get inside and try to study math during English class, which was his first period class. He was pretty good at English.

"Everyone's so sharp!" Lara exclaimed, and then she clicked her tongue. "That's no way to talk to a friend, now is it?"

"Friend?" Riku mumbled under her breath.

"You know Riku, why don't you just leave us alone, I have to talk with Mokuba, and this conversation does not concern you." She said. Her voice wasn't sweet anymore. It was now on the level that she used for all of the people that she resented, and the person who she resented the most was definitely Riku.

But Mokuba made that decision easy for Riku by breaking away from the two girls and running inside the building. He didn't want to be late for class, and he needed to study math, and he hated to look at Lara.

"Look you scared him away!" Riku exclaimed, half-amused. But then, she realized that she was indeed very amused, and broke into a fit of laughter that annoyed Lara very much indeed. Then, with a casual wave to Lara, she bounded into the school building, leaving the pretty, popular girl alone in front of the school.

Lara tossed her hair and walked into the building. Yes she hated Riku, and yes she would have her revenge on her.


	2. Chapter 2: Everyone's Math Troubles

**C'mon people read! Its not that bad, I promise lol!**

**Well thanks:** vendred13 **for reviewing and I hope that more of you will!**

**I will try to produce the perfect combination between angst and humor!**

**Thanks!**

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**Chapter 2: Everyone's Math Troubles**

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            Shizuka was nervous, she seemed calm, but that was a simple illusion.

            She had barely gotten any sleep thinking about the math test that was now going to happen in no more and no less then one hour, but luckily before that, the teacher had scheduled a review that every student was expected to attend.

            Of course, there was good news to this madness. After this test, testing week was over, and that meant something else as well. One week of no school! Oh that was going to be heaven to the poor students who had studied so hard for their exams.

            With that in mind, Shizuka walked into the testing room, where a couple of the other students had already gathered, most of them were older then her, and didn't pay much attention to the girl that was "way too smart" and was for some reason in their math and science classes. 

            _I'm really not that smart though. I'm not some kind of child genius; I simply study way too much. _That was it, Shizuka spent her life studying.

            She took a deep breath and sat down quietly, by herself, at a desk that stood inconspicuously in a corner. The other groups of students chatted amongst themselves and broke out into laughter every so often, well, all except for one other besides her.

            There he was, Seto Kaiba. He sat not even three desks away from her. Why did she pick this seat? She couldn't help but to stare at him. He was truly gorgeous; the essence of true beauty was sitting three seats away from her.

            Luckily for her, he didn't notice her staring as he was deeply involved in the literature that he was reading at that moment. Shizuka tried to catch a glimpse of the title just to see what it was that Mr. CEO liked to read. She caught the first word… "The…" and the second was… "Advanced…" Well she couldn't catch the rest, but by the picture of the computer on the cover, she assumed it had something to do with computers. It figured that he would read that.

            Satisfied about his reading choice, she went on to study his fashion choice for the day. It was, once again, pretty typical. He had on a black sweater, black pair of pants, black coat. Going for the Goth look? She supposed that that was the idea today. Goth or not, he looked good. Always as he sat at that desk, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He looked so…so professional, especially with that briefcase that always stood beside him, and the expensive laptop that adorned his desk.

            She would kill for a laptop like that.

            Her staring would have to be cut short because at that moment the teacher walked into the room, and the entire class scurried to their seats and fell into silence. Sensei Sakawara was a commanding presence in his dark suit and sharp tie. "Ohayoo Gozaimasu!" he said to the class.

            "Ohayoo Gozaimasu!" the students murmured back, but because they all said it at once, it seemed loud.

            "Now, I hope you realize the importance of the test you are about to take…" he began, "For two of you, this test could mean a scholarship and a future in one of the best colleges in the country."

            The students knew this already. Several of them rolled their eyes, because he gave this speech everyday.

            "In any case, this is not a test to be taken lightly and you should all try to do your best. Even if you do not get the scholarship, a good test score will help of your transcripts and this is something you should all be thinking about." He finished. "Any questions?"

            Everyone had heard about this test so much that any question one could have possibly had at one point had already been answered, most likely more than once. The students sat quietly and no one raised their hand.

            Sensei nodded and picked up a stack of light green papers that lay on his desk.

            Shizuka hated how these standardized tests were always printed on some kind of weird colored paper as if to make it seem easier or friendlier or something like that.

            Soon, one of the booklets lay on her desk, and she cringed to even look at the problems inside. She was sure that she would open it and the first question would be impossible, even though the first question was supposed to be easy to give you a confidence booster.

            "You may begin!" Sensei announced to the class, and immediately all of the students in the room opened their booklets, and read the first question. Several of them placed their heads in the palms of their hands, obviously giving up the fight before it had even begun. 

            The first problem stared up at Shizuka from the paper. It was difficult for sure, but it wasn't something that she couldn't do. She picked up her pencil, turned on her calculator, and immediately began to write down the steps to solve it, pressing numbers into the machine as she wrote. Five minutes later, she had finished, and she wrote the answer down in the space provided.

            _45.7893_

On to the next question! Yes, this would take a while.

***

            Meanwhile, Anzu, Yugi, and Jounouchii sat in their math class.

            They were doing group work. The teacher would always give them a worksheet to do to reinforce the ideas that were taught that previous day. Today, they got to pick their own groups of three to work in, usually sensei made the decision for them.

            "Do you get this Yugi?" Jounouchii asked, exasperated. He had stared at the first question for a few minutes now, yet it really didn't register in his head.

            "Ummm, well, sort of." Yugi replied. He was really not much better off then his friend, but he at least tried to get and answer.

            "I'm pretty good at these." Anzu offered. The two boys breathed a sigh of relief and leaned over Anzu's paper to look at what she did. She, as best she could, guided them through the steps of the equation and finally, they were clear on it.

            The next question was the same type of question and it was a cinch. 

"Wow, thanks Anzu!" Yugi exclaimed. "This is so much easier now!"

Jounouchii nodded in agreement. "Uh-huh, you're really good at this!"

Anzu blushed modestly. "Well if you two would study at all in your lives instead of constantly dueling each other and trying to improve your decks well maybe then you would be better at it!" she said.

"Well, maybe we should study a bit more…" Yugi agreed.

"But this stuff is so boring!" Jounouchii said.

"But, you have to know it to graduate!" Anzu pressed her point. "Just look at your sister, she's taking advanced math because she studies hard and she's going to get that scholarship…" she was cut off.

"But she's smart!" Jounouchii argued. "I'm not."

"Well, can't argue there." Anzu said playfully. Jounouchii growled slightly and clenched his fists, making her laugh and Yugi as well.

"Ah, sorry Jounouchii-kun!" Yugi said, through small giggles. 

"Yeah sure, laugh at me, see if I care!" He huffed, pretending to be mad, but he was easy to see through.

"You know we love you Jounouchii!" Anzu smirked, giving him a quick playful hug.

"Class listen up!" The entire class stopped their work and turned towards the teacher who stood at the front of the room, and held up a stack of papers. "I will now hand back your tests from last week!" She announced.

Jounouchii gulped.

Yugi elbowed him. "Is this the test that you really messed up?" he whispered.

"Don't remind me!" he whined miserably. Anzu only shook her head disapprovingly and made that clucking sound with her tongue that people make when they are disappointed by something.

"Good job Anzu-san!" The teacher said, handing her a test paper. Anzu flipped it over and in big writing on top of it was "97". She breathed a sigh of relief. This was more then good! She was thrilled!

Yugi got his next and it was an "84". He was relieved as well, but the two friends turned their attention towards Jounouchii who had yet to receive his test yet. They silently crossed their fingers for him, but even they knew that it wouldn't save his test grade.

Shaking her head, the teacher put the paper, face down, in front of him.

"I can't look." He mumbled. Anzu quickly grabbed it and flipped it over. When she saw the grade, her eyes widened and she quickly showed it to Yugi, who had a similar reaction. 

"Jounouchii!" she exclaimed. "I knew that this was going to be bad, but I don't believe this!"

"What is it?" He asked with a tone of voice that said he didn't really care if she told him or not.

Yugi whispered the number into his ear.

Jounouchii jumped out of his seat. "32%!" he yelled, not realizing that it was out loud until every student in the room had turned towards him. He promptly sat down, embarrassed about his outburst and about his grade.

"Jounouchii!" Sensei exclaimed, her voice getting tense. "Was there a need to share your pitiful grade with the entire class?" she asked.

"Gomen nasai." He muttered quietly.

"Thank you." She replied. "I need to talk to you after class, Jounouchii." She said.

"Yes Sensei." There was no use arguing. Nothing could excuse this grade. Yugi squeezed his friend's arm and Anzu gave him a look of sympathy, but they both knew that it would have no effect on his spirits.

"Let's go over the class work." The teacher said. "I need a volunteer to come up to the board."

Anzu raised her hand.

"Come on up, Anzu-san." Sensei said approvingly. It was clear that she liked Anzu; just as clear as her feelings for Jounouchii's study habits were.

***

Now, once again, our high school students were not the only ones who were having trouble in the world of math.

Mokuba sat in the back of the classroom in English class. He wasn't listening to a single word that the teacher had said, but was staring at his math notes trying to make sense out of them and failing miserably. It might as well have been written in French instead of Japanese, it made no sense to him.

Now, there was a test tomorrow and he knew absolutely nothing for it. He was sure that he would have to show Seto the grade and that would be no fun, and if he didn't show him the test grade then Seto would see his report card and become even more angry because he had hidden it from him.

This sucked really badly.

He supposed that he should take Riku up on her offer to help him, but his thoughts were soon interrupted. 

"Can you help us Mokuba?" Sensei Akitago asked.

Mokuba had absolutely no idea what the question being asked was.

"Um…" he began. "Could you please repeat the question, Sensei?" he asked meekly.

"Mokuba, you must pay attention!" Sensei reprimanded him gently.

"Gomen." Great. Now he was in trouble in this class as well.

"The question was, how do you say "Kissaten" in English?"

Mokuba searched his mind. He knew this answer, he really did. "Umm, "café"? He was sure that was it.

"Correct." Sensei announced, "But please, you must pay attention Mokuba!"

He nodded. He looked around the room and thankfully he hadn't brought any lasting attention to himself, except for one person's.

Lara sat in the front of the room, and Mokuba knew that he saw her smirk out of the corner of his eye. She annoyed him to no end. What did she have against him anyway? He supposed that he would never understand her.

But he did understand one thing. He understood the venom in her blue-green eyes when she looked at him and the poison that dripped off of her tongue when she said his name or that of his friend.

He understood that he hated Lara.

The bell rang and that signaled the end of English class. Next was math.

This was not going to be a happy class to attend. He slowly packed up his bag and when he walked towards the door, it was slow and without purpose.

"Mokuba!" Darn it! She had to talk to him, didn't she? She just had to make his day worse then it already was!

"What?" he asked. "What do you want, Lara?"

"You shouldn't day dream in class you know?" she asked him, not really expecting an answer.

_Duh I know, you moron!_

"Do you have anything important to tell me?" he asked.

"Well, I was just worried about your perfect reputation, and, oh you have math next right?" she asked sweetly.

He nodded, and he was sure that he knew where this was going.

"That's not really your best subject, is it?" she asked, her sweet voice, suddenly turning sour.

"What the hell Lara?" he exclaimed. "What do you want from me?"

"Oh nothing, just I wonder, how is it that you stay out of trouble for your grades?"

"What?"

"You know. I would think that with your family being so smart and all, grades like yours would be unacceptable, like you are a disgrace to your family." She smiled, obviously pleased with the damage that she had done, and as they walked into the math classroom, Mokuba tried to ignore her words, but somehow they hit home.

_I am a disgrace to Nii-sama, what would he think if he knew how I really did in math? _

Yes Lara had succeeded in striking a chord that went deeper then she could have imagined.

***

Shizuka was half-way through her test. So far, the test had lived up to her expectations, it was close to impossible. Each question was tougher then the previous and she was glad that she had seriously overdone the studying, but as she looked over at Mr. CEO, she noticed that he was closing his booklet and raising his hand.

The teacher came over, and they exchanged words which she couldn't hear and he got up, packed up his laptop and walked out the door, his coat swaying out behind him.

_He's done!?! What the heck?!? How did he do that!?!_

Yes, he was done, and she was sure, as well as Seto Kaiba was himself, that he had gotten a 100% on the test.

That really was unfair. She had noticed the satisfied look on his face when he had looked at the other students who were still working when he had left. She knew that he considered himself to be above them, and the sad part was that he was above them, at least in the intelligence department.

But, if he got a 100%, so would she.

Determined, she looked back down at the paper and onto the next question. This was bad.

Graphing was never her strong point, and this question involved graphing inverses of trigonometric functions and finding points in the graphs algebraically. If any question would screw her over, this would be the one.

No! She would not fail. She would beat Kaiba!

Then she realized, why was she thinking about beating Kaiba? This wasn't a contest. This was her own future at stake and she was treating it as a game. 

She would get the highest score, but not to do better then anyone, but to please herself and only herself.

**Read and Review!!! ^ ^**


	3. Chapter 3: Who Loves Who?

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**Hyper-Gurl1: Yes Lara is very evil, but we love evil! EVIL IS GOOD!**

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**Chapter 3: Who Loves Who?**

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            She had done it! Shizuka had finished her math test! She had never felt so free in her life!

            Now she sat on the steps in front of the school and waited for her friends. According to her watch, they would arrive in exactly ten minutes, when their class was over.

            Lucky for her, because she had taken this math test, her day was done. She could just go home and sleep, or read, or eat, or do any of those nice things that sounded much better then having to sit in class and listen to the teacher give a lecture. It was especially better then having to sit in a classroom with Seto Kaiba.

            Seto Kaiba.

            Once again, that was the only thing on young Shizuka Jounouchii's mind.

            Once again, she was caught imagining his blue eyes and running her hand through those chestnut locks. 

            And so once again, she slapped herself in the face, quite literally.

            _STOP IT!!!! It's Kaiba! Seto Kaiba is bad!! BAD! BAD! BAD!_

Damn that boy!

            Ok, she needed a change of pace, so she took out the application for Kitagawa College, the college of her dreams. On the front of the brochure there was a gorgeous photo of the campus, and she could so imagine herself there already.

            Then she once again flipped through the application and got to the part that discussed tuition. Then something hit her.

            Perhaps it was that number "$15,000" per semester.

            "Damn." She said out loud, studying the figure. "If I don't get that scholarship, there's no way that I'll be able to afford this place." That wasn't even the worst part. That was the price for tuition. She would still have to pay for a dorm and any special classes that she took. This sucked!

            She needed a backup, there was no guarantee that she would ace this test, and there were hundreds of other people who were just as good at math as she was. She was feeling more unsure of herself with every passing moment.

            "I need a job!" She exclaimed out loud.

            "What?" Shizuka jumped at the voice, she hadn't noticed Anzu standing behind her.

            "Oh…H-hi Anzu!" she said, stuttering, she didn't know why.

            "Are you ok?" Anzu asked, looking slightly worried.

            "Oh…yeah…of course!" 

            "Now, what's this about a job?" Anzu asked.

            "Well, I need a job to help pay for my college tuition and so if I get one now, I can save up some money." She explained her idea quickly to her best friend.

            "Ah, I see. What are you gonna work as?" Anzu asked. "I mean, you're only sixteen."

            "Hmmm…what if I got a job at one of those stores like "Modern Chic" or something?"

            "Ohhh, you get discounts and we could so go shopping!"

            "You're gonna work in a clothes store, Shizuka?" She did not see her brother and Yugi walk up.

            "Um, it was just a thought." She mumbled.

            "But, what do you want to major in?" Yugi asked. "In college?"

            "Um, I don't know really, but maybe something business like or accounting like."

            "Then what are you doing wasting your time selling clothes to the female population of the school?!?" Anzu exclaimed

            "She's right." Yugi said. "You should get some kind of more professional job…" He thought for a moment. "You could be an office girl and file papers and stuff, it's a start!"

            "Boring." Anzu put in.

            "But, it might look good on my college application." She said absentmindedly. "That's a good idea, Yugi!" she said. She suddenly stood up.

            "Where are you going sis?" Jounouchii asked, startled by her sudden jump into the air from the cold, grey, stone steps.

            "I need a newspaper!" She said. "I'm going job hunting!" And so, with that thought in mind, she ran off.

            The three remaining teens stared after her. They had a strange feeling about this, what was their young friend getting herself in to?

            Then, with that bad timing as they usually had, Otogi and Honda ran over, out of breath.

            "Where's Shizuka?!?" They both asked simultaneously. 

            Honda had a bouquet or roses in his arms and Otogi had a large heart-shaped box of chocolates. 

            "Um…" Anzu began eyeing the gifts.

            Yugi and Jounouchii stared with the same confused expressions in regards to the items that the two love-struck boys held in their hands.

            "You just missed her." Anzu said blankly. "Were you guys cutting class to buy those?" she asked, suspiciously.

            They looked at each other and then nodded. Well, that was step one of their plan to win Shizuka over. 

            Phase 1: Gifts-A-Plenty…..Failed

            And so, they handed the contents of their arms to Anzu and walked away, miserable.

            Anzu on the other hand was extremely happy, since that kind of chocolate just happened to be her favorite, and she guarded it protectively from the hungry looks of Yugi and Jounouchii.

***

            _Well that test was a complete waste of my life._

            Seto Kaiba was back where he belonged, sitting behind the large, cheery wood desk that was in the center of his large office. Actually, he didn't know why he had taken that exam. It was a complete waste of his time and he knew that he would get a 100 anyway, but he supposed that it was just to prove that he was better then the rest of the students were.

            Now it was 12:06 P.M. and he sat in that exceedingly comfortable leather chair that he had and typed figures into his laptop, which he always used, because desk-tops annoyed him to end, and he didn't know why.

            He glanced at the manila folder that rested on his desk. It contained the report that he needed. He really hoped that his secretary did not mess it up this time, other wise she would be gone. He had no time for people like her. Idiots.

            Lo and behold, when he opened the report and began to scan it, there were exactly five mistakes in the first paragraph.

            This was the last straw. He sent for his secretary immediately. She waltzed into the office with that stupid smile on her face. God, how he hated her. She was new at Kaiba Corporations and always wore that smile on her face that annoyed the young CEO to that extent that he wanted to punch her in the face most of the time.

            He had been in a good mood too. Sure, he was annoyed by the test, but otherwise he had been a pretty satisfied guy that day, well "had been" being the key words in the situation.

            "What the hell is this?" he asked coldly, holding the report in one hand at the level of his head. His gorgeous blue ewes were narrowed, which, some females argued, made him look even hotter, but as hot as he may have looked, he also looked scary, and I mean truly frightening.

            He received no answer from her, only an exceedingly confused look. God, he really wanted to punch her now, but he'd restrain himself there.

            It was only the verbal assaults that came out freely and without restraint.

            He decided to fill her in, the sooner he fired her, the sooner he could back to work. "This report is full of mistakes, what the hell were you thinking when you did it?" he asked. His voice was scary. It wasn't loud, in fact quite the opposite. It was dangerously soft.

            "I was…I…" She stuttered. That smile was finally leaving her face. He was coming to enjoy this now. Kaiba's mood had just gotten better, as it always did when he saw people fear him. The fear in people's eyes was just a wonderful thing.

            "You were not thinking at all when you did this?" he offered, now his eyes were brighter. He was on the toying stage.

            "Well…I was on the phone…for a w…while" She tried to explain. Why had she just said that?

            "So, you were talking to idiot friends on the phone when you were supposed to be applying your small brain to this report?" he asked.

            "I...I was…well…I don't appreciate…y...you t…talking to me that way." She said, her voice clearly faltering.

            "Well, you won't have to hear me any more." He said. "Get out, and take all of your belongings with you, you're fired." He said, and then looked back down at his laptop.

            She just stood there.

            "Do I not speak clearly?" he asked, seeing that she hadn't moved. "Do you need your hearing checked?" Yes, she was _really_ annoying him now.

            "But…Kaiba-Saichou…" she began.

            That was it. He stood up, making her back up a few steps and shut up promptly.

            "One again, was I unclear in my ordering you to leave?" His voice was getting to that dangerously low point that really told you that if you had any brain at all, you would watch out, and even though this girl was not the brightest star in the heavens, she understood that it was a mistake to mess with this guy. Therefore, she promptly turned on her heel and ran out of the office.

            _And she made me stand up too, just so she could run away, how annoying._

            Well, Kaiba had nothing to do now but to sit down again, and, oh yeah, he needed a new secretary. He supposed that he should post an ad in the paper as soon as he could. Someone needed to write down everything important that came out of his mouth during meetings, as well as everything stupid that the other guys said.

            But, strangely enough, as he thought of secretary, the face of a certain girl popped into his head.

            Shizuka Jounouchii.

            _What the hell?_

            He thought. 

            _She's pretty hot...Get a grip Seto, she's his sister and not good enough…_

            That was the sister of the ma'ke inu! She was related to that pathetic, second-rate duelist, who, Kaiba was going to have a field day beating as soon as school was let out for the entire summer. That was when the tournaments started after all.

            Shizuka=Secretary?

            "Hmmm..." He said out loud. 

            Though he continued working, that girl just would not leave his head.

            Though I suppose that our lover boy did not write poetry, this was definitely not the first time that she had come into his mind. In fact, he had a photo of her, one that he had stolen from Jounouchii's wallet one of those times that he had beaten him up.

            And so, this was something spectacular. Mr. CEO had a crush on Shizuka and Shizuka had a crush on Mr. CEO. Neither of them knew about what the other thought, and when the two made contact, it was anything but love at first site, and neither would ever admit their feelings because surely the other did not feel the same way.

            Also, Kaiba was certainly not the only person who had a crush on Shizuka.

            And, of course, Shizuka was not the only person who had a crush on Kaiba.

            This was going to be interesting.

***

            No luck, no luck. She had no luck.

            There was not one freaking business oriented job in the entire freaking newspaper!

            She could not believe this! This was ridiculous!

            Well, as she looked to her side, she saw the "Modern Chic" boutique and as her luck would have had it; there was a sign on the door that read, "Now Hiring." And so, desperate for work at this point, she crossed the street and made her way towards the store.

            As she walked in, she could already tell that this was not going to work. The sales girl that sat behind the desk wore her hair in a strange, spiky, purple style, and she read a magazine while blowing enormous bubbles with the seemingly green bubble gum that she chewed, since the bubbles were green.

            "Hey you!" she called. Shizuka assumed that she was referring to her, since there was no one else there.            "You need any help?"

            She was about to ask for a job application, but somehow decided strictly against it. She would not be caught dead working here. "No thanks." She said quietly and politely. The girl behind the register shrugged and went back to flipping through her magazine. She seemed relieved. Shizuka figured that her magazine must have been very interesting.

            But, since she had walked in., Shizuka felt obligated to buy something from the store.

            She looked onto a shelf next to her and saw an assortment of well...underwear. She decided to try a different shelf. It was for the better.

            The next shelf was better, holding a small array of different cosmetics. She picked out a lip liner, paid for it, and ran out of the store. The punk music inside of it was getting to her head.

            Looking at her purchase, she realized that she had bought black lip liner. Well, it was dark in there, and she doubted that they sold any other colors anyway. 

            _Great! Ten dollars for black lip liner that I will never, for as long as I live, wear. _

Lucky her that Kaiba was posting his advertisement for a secretary that very day, and when she saw the paper tomorrow, it would be there.

            Ah, nothing like business to bring two unlikely lovers together.

            Though, if each likes the other, that helps too.

**R & R THANKS!**


	4. Chapter 4: So, What Are You Doing Over V...

**Here's chapter four! I hope you like!**

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**Chapter 4: So, What Are You Doing Over Vacation?**

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            This was it; the class that Mokuba hated was now upon him. He stood in front of the doorway and looked inside. One could see the colorful posters and cut outs of addition and multiplication symbols that hung on the walls. On the other wall, there hung tests that had received 100%, needless to say, Mokuba's test was not up there. Kai's was.

            _He's a genius though. _He thought in regards to his friend. But, of course, Lara's test hung there smugly as well.

            Since there was no way around it, Mokuba walked into the classroom and made his way quietly to the back of the room. Riku and Kai already were sitting there waiting for him.

            In their math class, the students sat in groups of four in small clusters of desks. Mokuba, Riku, and Kai always sat together, and usually that worked out fine because the class didn't divide into even groups of four.

            Mokuba placed his books down on the desk, making a large bang as he let his book fall hard onto the wooden surface. Riku looked up; Kai didn't since he didn't care.

            "What took you?" she asked cheerfully, though she was only trying to cheer her friend up because she knew quite well that this was not his favorite class.

            He didn't respond, he just glared, and sat down into the chair and placed his head into his open palms.

            "C'mon Mokuba, cheer up will you?" Riku pleaded. "The test is tomorrow, so why don't I help you after school?" she suggested with, what she hoped was, enthusiasm.

            "It won't make a difference." He mumbled.

            "Sure it will, if we study together then tomorrow you'll get a 100% on that test!" she said.

            "No it won't." Now he was just being stubborn.

            "Give it up Riku, he's bent on failing." Kai said. Riku quickly turned towards him, anger flaring in her large eyes.

            "Kai! You insensitive…" He cut her off. Rude!

            "I'm just telling you how it is." He shrugged and went back to reading.

            "Don't you want to help your friend?" she asked. "You can be such a jerk sometimes!" she fumed. "Scratch that, you're always a jerk~ I don't know why I'm friends with you!" Then she turned back towards Mokuba. "Ignore him Mokuba." She said. "So are you sure that you don't want to study?" she asked one last time, if she could, she would force him to study.

            "No." he replied. Though she might have tried to convince him again, the teacher called the class to attention.

            "Class, you all know that the test is tomorrow right?" Was the first thing that he asked.

            "Hai sensei!" The group of nineteen ten-year-olds chirruped.

            "Good, so then are there any questions on the homework that you may have, remember that this test counts twice in my grade book?"

            A couple of students raised their hands to ask questions. Mokuba knew that he should also raise his hand but he didn't. It didn't matter. Nothing was going to save him.

            Mokuba tried to pay attention while the teacher walked the students through the questions that they asked, but it didn't come to him. He just didn't get it. Riku, on the other hand, took excellent notes since she was still intent on studying with Mokuba after school.

            She jammed him hard on the shoulder, and shoved her notebook in front of him. She had written down each step and explained each one with side notes. Kai looked over also. "I'm impressed." He whispered to her, hoping that teacher didn't hear.

            Riku put on one of those smug smiles.

            "You have no life." Kai added.

            Her smile vanished and she gave him another death glare. "Why do I talk to you?" she whispered back fiercely.

            He shrugged. "I'm irresistible." He said.

            Riku rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him briefly, and he did the same to her. Mokuba stared at her notebook. Surprisingly, he actually understood what was written now. She had taken really good notes. 

            "Does that help?" she asked. He nodded. "Take it home and study it for tomorrow." She said.

            Mokuba nodded. "Thanks Riku!" he whispered loudly into her ear.

            Maybe he wasn't doomed for tomorrow. Just maybe, there was some hope for him yet.

***

            "Thank god that school is over!" Jounouchii exclaimed to his friends. They all nodded, and as they all knew, there was now a one week break from school.

            "You said it Jounouchii-kun!" Yugi agreed.

            Honda and Otogi weren't really paying attention to the conversation at hand, they were scheming. There was no school, which meant Shizuka was free all week, or so they thought, not knowing of her determination to get a job that week. 

            Therefore, the two love-sick boys were planning the perfect way to get Shizuka to go out. Each one had his own method of making her swoon, yet instead of putting their plans into action, the two boys just argued with each other as to whose plan was better.

            At this rate, neither of them would get a date.

            "What are you gonna do Jounouchii?" Yugi asked.

            "I'm gonna stay home and watch TV!" he announced, ah nothing made Jounouchii happier then doing nothing. "Oh and we can duel a whole lot to get ready for the summer tournaments eh?"

            "Sure!" Yugi agreed.

            "Ugh!" Anzu exclaimed. "Is that all you two think about? That card game?" 

            Jounouchii and Yugi nodded at the same time.

            "Well…" she began. "Maybe I want to learn to play better too!" she blurted out.

            "You want to play duel monsters Anzu?" Yugi asked, interested.

            "Well, it looks like fun." She admitted.

            "Well then you could play with us over the break!"

            "Her?" Jounouchii drawled. "Get ready to get you ass kicked Anzu!" 

            "Whatever!" she rolled her eyes. "Let's think back to when you were first learning, who beat who?" she asked.

            Jounouchii stood in thought and Anzu and Yugi giggled watching his confused expressions.

            "Anzu beat you all the time in the beginning Jounouchii-kun!" Yugi said, still laughing.

            "Anyway, you have some math to learn." She said. "What did sensei tell you?" she asked.

            "Oh yeah, how did that go?" Yugi asked. They were both referring to the short meeting that Jounouchii had had with the math teacher because of his test grade.

            "He just said that I should try harder because I'm capable of better work and that crap." He said. "Nothing new."

            "Well, he has a point." Yugi said. Anzu nodded.

            "Yeah well, it's vacation! No on even mention school to me!" he ordered.

            His friends smiled. He was right. This was not the time to think about school. There wasn't any for a week!

***

            Seto Kaiba was also thrilled that there was no school, of course for different reasons.

            He didn't need to hone his skills for the upcoming tournaments, since he was sure that they would be a snap to win.

            No, he could finally get down to business and put all of his energy into running Kaiba Corp. He knew that the company was slacking as a result of him being in school. Now he could fire the employees that were not working hard enough and hire new ones, which wouldn't last long, so the cycle would have to be repeated.

            There was a knock on his door. 

            "What do you want?" he snapped as the person slowly opened the door. It was just one of girls that took down appointments for him. He really hoped that he wasn't completely booked.

            "Kaiba-saichou…" she began. She paused, waiting for him to tell her to continue.

            "I don't have all day!" he growled.

            "Right, sumimasen, you received an invitation to a cocktail party, and here it is." She quickly placed it onto his desk and backed away. She bowed quickly and ran out of the office. She knew that her boss hated social gatherings.

            Annoyed, yes he's always annoyed, he ripped open the card and looked at it. It was for a business party. These were the worst kinds. He was supposed to have a meeting with all of these people and then drink with them. This would be great.

            But, this was no small time event. Every one who was someone were gathering to discuss and hopefully make mergers and deals between companies. He did not want to make any deals with anyone, but he couldn't get out of this one.

            "Why must my day always end up being so god damn awful?" he asked himself. Even better, this meeting was in The United States.

            Another thing that he really hated were airplanes. He liked helicopters, especially his own, but you couldn't fly across the ocean in one. 

            The meeting/ party was in two weeks and he had to go. He quickly sent for the girl that had brought him this letter in the first place.

            "Give them an affirmative response." He said blankly, handing her the invitation.

            "Hai!" she said and left as quickly as she had come.

            He took out an expensive, black fountain pen and marked on his desk-top calendar that he had this meeting.

            _Some morons are going to try to convince me to make some kind of deals with them, and God it's going to be really messed up. Speaking of which, I really need to hire a secretary before then, someone has to take notes._

He was sure that each hot-shot executive would have his or her secretary along with them, and they would write down every word that came out the idiots' mouths. 

            Well, on the bright side, he would get to miss school for this meeting, and though he didn't know it yet there was another good aspect.

            _Shizuka Jounouchii…Damn, what the hell?_

            Once again, he was daydreaming. Daydreaming about that completely gorgeous girl that he had a major crush on.

            This was getting a little too ridiculous for him. Why did he like her? She was below him and not rich, and the mutt's sister. He had a crush on Katsuya Jounouchii's sister?!? What was this world coming to?

            But still, he couldn't get the image of her deep eyes out of his mind and the thought of burying his face in her hair had occurred to him more then once in the past hour and a half.

            Ah, the power of love.

**Read and Review…or else…JK!!!^ ^**


	5. Chapter 5: Lara's Plan

**To vendred13: I meant café as in like a restaurant ^ ^**

**And thanks to kikoken and surfergirl16 for reviewing^ ^**

**This chapter is mainly about Lara, but heck she's important to the story so read away!**

**I don't own yu-gi-oh, but I do own the evil that is Lara. MUHAHA!!**

**Yes, I'm insane!**

**ENJOY!!! ^ ^**

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**Chapter 5: Lara's Plan**

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            "Why can't I be in high school yet?" Mokuba whined to his friends during lunch, as the all sat under a large tree eating their food. Of course, Mokuba knew from his brother that the high school kids didn't have to go to school tomorrow but he did, and to back it up, he had to take a math test.

            "Well, you'll never get into high school with your math grades." Kai said matter-a-factly.

            "SHUT UP KAI!" Riku and Mokuba both yelled at him this time.

            "Fine, I'll shut up." He said throwing his hands up in the air with mock surrender.

            "Aren't you going to eat?" Riku asked Mokuba. He shook his head. "Oh, in that case, can I have your lunch?" she asked. Mokuba handed it to her. She lit up. "Oh wow, you get the best food ever, thanks Mokuba!"

            Yes it was true that Mokuba's lunch was quite delicious everyday. Today, it happened to be sushi. Riku gobbled down the tuna, avocado, and cucumber rolls in what seemed like less then a minute.

            Kai stared at her in amusement, and Mokuba drew circles in the ground with a stick that he found.

            "Mokuba, do you want to study for math now?" Riku still hadn't given up on them studying together. She really could be quite persistent. But, so could Mokuba, and once again he shook his head. "I give up!" she said, sighing.

            "It's about time." Kai muttered. Riku turned towards him and looked ready to sock him in the stomach, and since she was ready to do so, she did. Well, she would have if Kai hadn't caught her arm. "Not bad." He said, putting her arm down, "But still not good enough."

            "I really hate you, you know that?" she said, pissed.

            "I know." He replied, once again taking out his book.

            "So Mokuba are you going anywhere over vacation?" Riku asked, taking her mind off of Kai.

            He shook his head. "Nii-sama is way too busy and besides, he doesn't like vacations."

            "So what are you gonna do?" she asked.

            "Well, I suppose I'll just play video games or watch TV or surf the net like I always do." Then he added. "I guess that I'll study for math too, cause sensei is gonna give us a packet to do over break right?" he asked.

            "Most likely, since he always gives us tons of homework over break."

            Mokuba nodded slowly and went back to drawing in the dirt with his stick, and that was why he didn't see Lara come over to their tree.

            "Hi guys!" she said.

            All three looked up at her. The friendliness was definitely what caught them off guard.

            "Hi Lara." Mokuba mumbled, not wanting to get into any kind of confrontation with her.

            Kai took the more direct approach. "What the hell do you want?" he asked.

            "Well, well, that's not very nice is it?" she asked, sitting down, to Riku's horror. Riku inched away. She wanted to be as far away from Lara as possible, which meant being closer to Kai, but it was an easy decision. "I just wanted to talk with you guys." She said, her friendly voice was still there, surprisingly.

            "About what?" Mokuba asked, with a tone of voice that said he really didn't care.

            "Well, are you guys ready for that math test tomorrow?"

            Now it was clear where this was going.

            "We're fine." Riku answered, her voice seemed to waver though.

            "You sound nervous Riku." Lara said. 

            "I'm not nervous!" she exclaimed, but her discomfort around Lara was clear to anyone, and especially to Lara herself.

            "I'd say you are." Lara replied casually, with that air that popular people put on. "Do I intimidate you that much?" she asked.

            Riku stared at the ground. Kai and Mokuba stared at Riku. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she just tell Lara to screw off like the other two always did?

            "Or wait; are you just jealous of me?"

            "What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

            "Ah, nothing, never mind, Riku."  She replied sweetly.

            "How's the math going, Mokuba?" she asked.

            "Fine." He replied shortly. Lara was about to say something back, but she heard her name and gave the threesome a casual wave before running over to her large group of friends.

            Well, now their mood had been completely ruined. 

            "What the hell is her problem?" Kai spat. Riku didn't respond.

            For some reason, Lara had always intimidated her. It was like Lara was seriously out to get her.

            "RIKU!" Riku jumped when Kai yelled her name.

            "Jeez, no need to yell!" she shot back.

            "Well, when I said your name the other ten times in a normal voice, you didn't seem to hear me!" he retorted.

            "Oh…r-really?" She asked. "Sorry, I guess I was daydreaming." It was a bad excuse.

            "Are you upset about what Lara said or something?" Kai asked.

            "No, w-why would I be?" she asked defensively.

            He shrugged. "I don't know, you just seemed nervous around her, that's all."

            "I'm not nervous around her!" she shot back.

            Mokuba looked at his watch. "Let's go in you guys." He said, jumping up and running towards the building.

            Riku got up quickly as well, but Kai grabbed her arm.

            "What?" she asked.

            "Why are you upset over Lara?" he asked.

            "I told you already that I'm not!"

            "Well any moron can see that you were because you're near tears now and you stuttered when you talked to her!" he shot back.

            "Just leave me alone!" she snapped. He was right. She was close to tears.

            "Fine!" he retorted, annoyed. "Be that way!" and so, he let go of her arm and strode away.

            Riku stood looking after him, her tears now freely falling.

***

            Shizuka sat at her computer and looked up the classifieds for job listings.

            She had been searching ever since she had come home, and now three hours later, she was still searching. Even her brother had failed to distract her for even five minutes from her self-assigned task. She needed a job and she needed one now, and as her luck would have had it, she got a hit!

            But when she saw the company for which the job was advertised, she almost fell off of her chair, and at that glamorous moment of having no balance her brother walked into the room.

            "So Shizuka, how's you're search going?" he asked, casually glancing over the computer screen. "Kaiba Corporations?!?" he exclaimed. "What the heck?" He looked at his sister questioningly. 

            "Um well, I was looking for companies that needed secretaries and look what popped up!" she said, trying to hide her moment of falling-off-the-chair glory. "It doesn't mean that I'll apply for it." She said.

            "Damn straight you won't apply for it!" Jounouchii exclaimed.

            That got her pissed. "Well…well maybe I will!" she shot back.

            "WHAT!?!"

            "Yeah! Maybe I'll get the job at Kaiba Corp!" she was on a roll now. "You can't stop me!"

            "There is no way that any sister of mine is going to work for that…that…JERK!"

            "Stop me!" She challenged.

            "I will lock you in the house, but you are not working for him!!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

            "Mind your own business!" she yelled back, equally as loud. "Maybe he is a jerk, but he's a jerk that'll give me a paycheck!"

            _Not to mention, I'll get to look at that face everyday…Oh shit! NO!!! I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH KAIBA!!! BAD THOUGHTS!!! BAD!!!_

"I'm not in love with him…" she muttered, but quickly slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized that she had said that out loud.

            "In love with who?" her brother asked.

            "No one." She muttered quickly.

            _Oh shit! I'm an idiot!_

            "C'mon, who is it sis!" he teased. "When a girl says that she doesn't love someone, it means that opposite!"

            "How would you know?" she challenged. "Are you a girl?"

            "Who is it? Honda?" he guessed.

            _Honda!?! Yeah…Honda…_

"You guessed it!" she smiled. "Now get out, and if you say a word to anyone, you'll be dead!" She quickly pushed him out the door and slammed it behind her.

            "Honda…" she repeated the name.

            What had she just done?

            _Oh my god…_

_            My brother thinks that I'm in love with Honda…_

_            He can't keep a secret for his life…_

_            CAN MY LIFE GET ANY WORSE???_

            Now she was in trouble. She denies that she loves Kaiba though she does and to cover that up tells her brother that she loves Honda, which she doesn't and now…now she's going to apply for a job at Kaiba Corp and her life is totally screwed up, oh and she had just spent ten bucks on black lip liner that she was never going to wear in her life. That was the last ten dollars that she had to her name.

            She had to get this job, and she had to devise a way to keep her brother's mouth shut.

***

            As luck would have had it for poor Riku, her next class was with Lara and not one of her friends was in it.

            Now, it's interesting to know why Riku reacts that way around Lara. Why is Riku intimidated by Lara?

            It's quite simple. Lara is better then her at everything and makes a point of it all the time, and she's an evil witch. Lara gets better grades, can do more sit-ups, and scores more goals in soccer. And to a ten-year-old this is bad enough, but Lara doesn't stop there.

            Riku sat down at a desk near the back of the room, knowing that Lara, the teacher's pet always sat in the front where she could answer the most questions, but today was totally not her day, so Lara sat down next to her.

            "Hi Riku!" she said.

            Riku mumbled something that sounded like 'hi'

            Lara quickly began to unpack her books onto the desk next to Riku's. "So how was the rest of your lunch with those so-called-friends of yours?" she asked, as if she had asked something that was perfectly legitimate.

            "What d-do you mean?" Riku asked quietly.

            "Riku! Don't tell me that you're that naïve!" she exclaimed. "You mean you haven't heard?" she asked.

            "Heard what?"

            "Well, the rumors are all over, oh you poor dear." she said, feigning sympathy. "Do you really think that a kid like Mokuba with all that money and prestige wants you as a friend?" she asked.

            "I-I don't know what you mean." She replied.

            "Between us, friends, Mokuba doesn't like you. He keeps you around because he needs you to help him with his homework and such c'mon can't you tell?" Lara asked, thrilled with the uncertainty that was emulating form Riku.

            "That's not true." She whispered.

            "Oh, but it is…I mean think about it, why would he bother with a girl like you anyway? He's rich! He has his pick of any body that he wants." Lara finished. "Just think about it, I don't want you to get hurt later."

            Riku didn't respond, she just looked down at her desk. Lara smiled evilly when she knew that Riku wasn't looking.

            _I'll get you Mokuba. I'll show your rich spoiled-brat self how hard life is for everyone else. I hate you more than words can describe, and I hate everyone like you. It's not fair that it was taken away from me._

            Riku felt extremely uncomfortable right about now. She wanted to tell the teacher that she wasn't feeling well and get permission to leave the room, but she stayed in her seat, not daring to move as long as Lara's eye was on her.

            Lara would break Mokuba one step at a time, starting with his friends, and he would know how to ignore Lara Samuida.

**If you enjoyed (or even if you didn't) please leave a review!**

**Ja**** ne! **


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